Real Wedding: Melanie & Rhys - Photography by Kings & Thieves - Together Journal

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship… Rhys and I met when we were both 18, through a mutual friend on a night out on the town! We’ve been together for 5.5 years and were engaged for almost 2.

Rhys is a carpenter, and I’m currently a stay at home mum to our beautiful little 2-year-old boy. Since having him at only 21 and 22, our relationship has only grown stronger.

Rhys proposed on Christmas morning, and it was a total surprise! It was just me, him and our little boy. It was perfect.

Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details… From the start we both had envisioned a laid back, relaxed wedding, just a big party. We wanted to have our favorite people there kicking back with us. We originally had chosen a different venue, but I just happened to see some photos of the National Park and fell in LOVE. Old plans went out the window and we booked here. We wanted our wedding to be fun, relaxed, chilled and simple. It was perfect.

The day before the wedding, our beautiful bridal party and both our mums were at both venues all day helping us set up and make everything look exactly how we wanted it. My mum did all the florals and my sister made our cake. We couldn’t of asked for anything better.

Tell us about your main outfits: I decided on having 2 different dresses, a formal, elegant one for the ceremony, and a more fun, party one for the reception and it was the best decision. I’m in love with both my dresses! For the ceremony, I wore Inez by Watters and for the reception I wore a 2 piece. The top from by Grace Loves Lace, and the Tulle Skirt was by Made With Love Bridal.

From the start Rhys knew he wanted to wear Charcoal. So off the boys went to find their suits. They decided on a Charcoal suit by SK Menswear.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?It was just our luck, we got the HOTTEST September day they had in Sydney for years! Throughout the weeks leading up to our big day we were praying for no rain and we literally got the opposite!

I will never forget hearing the music play and seeing the girls start to walk down the aisle and then seeing Rhys’s huge smile when it was my turn. Also, seeing our little boy dancing and having a blast was one of the best feelings.

During the reception, Rhys, our son and I slipped away, just to have a few minutes alone as a family and to let everything sink in. I’ll never forget the huge cuddle and tears of joy that we all shared together.